Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez on Okehampton front desk reopening
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00:00 I think the reopening of Oakhampton Police Station front desk is such positive news for
00:04 the people of Oakhampton and the surrounding villages.
00:07 We're just stood in the area at the moment, as you can see it's not open yet, but plans
00:12 to have it done before the end of this calendar year.
00:16 And there's going to be some access so that people who are unable to walk well, there'll
00:20 be really good access into this building, which is a tricky old school building, but
00:26 really good news for the people of Oakhampton.
00:28 So we're not planning on shutting down or moving policing out of Oakhampton, so I think
00:33 this secures the future of the police by reopening the front desk.
00:36 So this will be a constant for people.
00:39 And I think that sort of reassures people.
00:41 There'll be some investment out the back as well.
00:43 There's going to be some painting of the building.
00:45 So I wouldn't be spending money if I thought the building was going to close or we were
00:49 going to move anytime soon.
00:52 Every other type of business is closing their front desks, whether that's a local authority,
00:57 whether it's a bank, you know, they've all been trying to change to being in the online
01:01 world.
01:02 But I think when you've been a victim of crime and you're distressed, it's really important
01:07 that when possible, you're able to speak to somebody face to face to report that crime.
01:12 If you didn't feel you wanted to ring 999 or it happened last week, but you've suddenly
01:17 felt strong enough to come in and report it.
01:19 So for me, it's about making sure the police have a public face to our communities, particularly
01:26 who are victims of crime and to be able to support them.
01:30 We are the lowest crime rate in the country, but violence is an issue in our communities.
01:33 And I want to have places where people can go and make sure that they're reporting those
01:37 things that are happening to them.
01:39 But you can come in and ask for crime prevention advice.
01:42 You can come in also and ask to get an appointment with a police officer if you wanted to speak
01:46 to somebody specifically.
01:49 And I think the other bit that's quite key is I fund all of the victim support services
01:53 that there are and the front desk will be able to help people who may have been a victim
01:57 of a crime many years ago to actually seek help and support.
02:01 So there's lots of different things, but I tell you the one thing I know it will get
02:04 used for is local people here want to tell the police what's happening in their communities
02:09 because they don't like to tolerate crime and antisocial behaviour.
02:13 So people will be coming in just to give intelligence and information to the police so that they
02:17 know what's going on.